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Woodrow^ Wilson 



A 
SKETCH 



He has preserved the peace of the country 
amidst a world-war. 

He has maintained its honor and restored 
its prosperity. 

He has driven plutocracy from power and 
re-established democracy in the seat 
of government. 



SEPTEMBER. 1916 



ii 

Woodro^v Wilson 

A 
SKETCH 



Together with a Short 

Review of the Career of 

Thomas R. Marshall, 

Vice-President. 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 



SEPTEMBER, 1916 



■Q7 



Copyrighted, September, 1916. 

BY 

Howard M. Gounder. 




SEP 26 1916 

CI,A437820 



WOODRO^V WILSON. 



WooDROw WiLsox ! The grateful hearts of your countrymen go 
out to you as their Chief-Magistrate who has preserved their tran- 
quillity during two awful years of a world drenched in a cataclysm 
of blood ! You have upheld your country's honor and dignity with 
such quiescent yet invincible tenacity as to compel the respect of the 
nations of the earlh ! You have held your country at peace with the 
world in the midst of the indescribable misery and death that has 
surrounded it! We know wliat this peace has cost you in anguish 
of heart, and we love you profoundly for the miseries you have 
sutfered for your country's sake! The exemplification of your 
nobility of. soul in resolutely and continuously repelling and de- 
feating all the powerfully selfish efforts to enmesh your country in 
foreign complications, warms the cockles of all patriots' hearts! 
Pjeans of ineffable joy reverberate- throughout the land at the 
prosjiect of your ascendency! 

The great man who at this moment oceui)ies the. most exalted 
official position in the civilized world — the Presiden'ey 'of the United 
States — was born at Staunton, Virginia, Decen^ber 28, 1856. He is 
descended from a line of distinguished Scots-Irish Presbyterian 
divines, some of whom were men of si^ecial note, and particularly 
marked for their learning, their eloquence, and their force 'bS. charac- 
ter. He grew to manhood in Geoi-gia, where his father was pastor 
of Presbyterian churches, and at the age of nineteen, in the year 
1875, he entered Princeton College with no well-defined idea as to 
what profession he intended to devote his life. He had read widely 
and to some purpose as a youth, and was, accordingly, now toleraby 
informed — much beyond that of the everyday college freshman. 
He had formed some idea of polities, too, and while not narrow, or 
bigoted, or self-sufficient, was a pronounced Democrat, with au 



ability and an inclination to indulge in political controversy. He 
was genial, fond of sport, a maker of fun, yet, withal, was honorable, 
high-minded, and compelled the respect and admiration of his fellows. 

Soon after entering Princeton he chanced to read a copy of the 
'' Gentleman's Magazine," an English publication for which Dr. Sam- 
uel Johnson wrote imaginary debates that took place in i^arliament. 
It was not permitted to publish proceedings of parliament, so Dr. 
Johnson being furnished with meagre notes of speeches, enlarged 
them, supplying both argument and eloquence, and these were pub- 
lished in the '' Gentleman's Magazine" under the title of " Debates of 
the Senate of Lilliput." The reading and studying of these deeply 
interested him, and thenceforward his determination was to prepare 
for a public career. He studied the lives of public men, devoted 
much time to the study of history and the history of government. 
He possessed a natural elegance of diction and a readiness of ex- 
pression, both of which he now strove to imj^rove, and he succeeded 
so well that he was soon recognized as the most eloquent and fluent 
debater among the student body. 

As a result of his studies of government he wrote and published, 
during his senior year, an essay called " Cabinet Government in the 
United States," which set him apart at once as a writer of logical, 
clear, and eloquent English. , He graduated in 1879, ranking forty- 
first in a class of one hundred and twenty-five. 

He was of the belief that the best way to enter public life was 
through the law; accordingly, after his graduation from Princeton 
he entered the law department of the University of Virginia. Here 
he interspersed his study of law with writing the lives of William E. 
Gladstone and John Briglit, and the study of history and biography. 
In his zeal to acquire the knowledge and accomi^lishments which he 
deemed necessary to a successful public career, he overtaxed his 
strength, and his health becoming impaired, he left the University 
and repaired to his home, now in North Carolina, where he spent 
a year recovering. 

He then went to Atlanta, Georgia, formed a law partnership with 
one Edward I. Renick, where they patiently waited for business which 
never came, and after vainly tarrying here for more than a year, 




\V(Hi|i|;()\\' \\'ll>().\. 



he quit the fellowship of his partner, ami entered Johns Hojikins 
University with the avowed purpose of acquiring a more extended 
knowledge of the science of government, history, and ]>olitical 
economy. 

It should be said that wiiile waiting for clienls at Atlanta he began 
the writing of a book, " Congressional Government," which was pub- 
lished in 1885, and promptly brought him prominence and particu- 
larity. It was also while living here that an event occurred that 
marked an epoch in his life. He chanced to moot a charming, 
estimable, and brilliant young woman. Miss Kllen Louise A.xson, who 
became his wife on June 24, 1885, and who proved to be a genuinely 
good and lovable helpmeet, whose encouragement and wifely assist- 
ance were potent factors in his happiness and success. Three 
daughters were the result of this marriage, one of whom is the wife 
of the Secretary of the Treasury, William G. McAdoo, another is the 
wife of Professor Sayre, who is now connected with the University 
of Pennsylvania, and the third is at home. 

We find Mr. Wilson attached to Bryn Mawr College in the fall of 
1885 as associate teacher of history and political economy, where he 
remained until 1888, when he went to AVesIeyan University, Middle- 
town, Connecticut, to fill the chair of history and j)()litical economy. 
During his professorshijD at Bryn Mawr, Johns Hopkins University 
conferred the degree of Ph.D. on him and engaged him to deliver 
one lecture a week at that institution for a period of six months. 
He soon became conspicuous in the lecture field for both learning 
and eloquence; hence it was that his engagements became numerous, 
each succeeding lecture adding to his constantly widening rei)utation, 
and when a vacancy occurred in the chair of jurisprudence and 
politics at Princeton University in 1890, he was chosen to fill it. 
Soon his great talents made him, perhaps, the most popular and 
noted member of the faculty. He now lectured much. He became 
widely popular. He gave further play to his literary ])ro])ensities 
by writing four books, " Division and Reunion," *'An Old Master," 
" Mere Literature," and " George Washington," and some years later, 
"A History of the American People," all of wliicli were written 
in a style so charming, and witli so nuu-h eloquence, that they 



6 

took liigli rank at oiiee as gems of literary merit. His life of 
Washington is considered one of the very best of the many good 
books describing the life and character of this great man. 

When Dr. Francis Patten resigned the presidency of Princeton 
University in 1902, what more inevitable sequence than the selection 
of Dr. Woodrow Wilson as his successor? It so hapjDened. Dr. 
Wilson was the first layman to be accorded this honor. Princeton 
was at this time attended, lai'gely, by the sons of the very rich, who 
came here to while away a few pleasant years in idleness and 
luxurious ease. There had grown vij:) under this exclusive spirit a 
number of clubs that were established in splendid buildings, ex- 
pensively furnished, and surrounded by spacious lawns, carefully 
kept. These clubs could not, and were not intended to, admit to 
membership all, or nearly all, the students attending the institution, 
but only a select few, comparatively. This led to dissatisfaction, 
created bitter jealousies, dispelled effective discipline, and established 
classes. Many of the students failed to pass their examinations but 
were jDromoted notwithstanding, and these conditions led to a lower- 
ing of the standard of both discipline and scholarship, and a decrease 
of influence throughout the land as an institution of higher learning. 

When Dr. Wilson became head of the institution he had well- 
matured plans for the correction of these abuses, which he forthwith 
set about to jiut into execution. Accordingly, he appointed a Commit- 
tee on Examination and Standing, which soon reported a new system 
of study, and the students were informed, at the same time, that they 
would be required to pass their examinations or be dropped; and 
when a number of these club boys failed to make satisfactory marks 
at the examinations and were dropped, there arose a great furore 
and a severe criticism of the president. Nothing daunted, however, 
he went resolutely forward and was unalterable in his jDurpose of 
requiring scholarship and efficiency, and not social standing and 
wealth, as requisites for promotion and graduation. The result of 
this first and far-reaching reform was a bracing, and an application 
to study all along the line of the student body. The club boys 
reformed their habits, applied themselves to the acquisition of 



knowledge, dispensed with many luxuries, notwithstanding they did 
a deal of gTumbling. 

The second measure of reform was to bring the students into closer 
relationship with the faculty, to have the younger professors in 
almost constant touch with them, so that their reading, their sports, 
their hours of study, their daily habits of life, would be thus in- 
fluenced, the result of which would be a still further efficiency, a more 
harmonious, and an altogether better organized University life. But 
when he attemj^ted the execution of these changes, and the reorgani- 
zation of the social life of the institution, a furious storm broke that 
continued during the remainder of the presidency of Dr. Wilson. 
His interference with the club life was resented as an infringement of 
a vested right that was altogether without his province. It would 
tend to a leveling of social distinctions, so that the boys belonging 
to families of great wealth and exclusiveness would be thrown into 
more frequent contact with those of plebeian birth and habits. This 
could not be endured, lliis would be a breaking up of the sjDlendid 
traditions of Old Nassau's exclusive social set, which in the minds 
of those students and alumni who had been enjojdng membership in 
the clubs would be simply the destruction of the institution itself. 
The report of the committee that was a^jpointed by the president to 
devise means to bring about the contemplated changes was adopted 
by a vote of twenty-five of the twenty-seven trustees present at the 
meeting, and though he was so preponderantly indorsed by the 
cor]5orate reijresentatives of the University, a bitter controverey re- 
sulted, and continued for years, and finally ended in the defeat of the 
cherished plans of Dr. Wilson to make Princeton a more democratic, 
a moi'e numerously patronized, a less exclusive, and a more influen- 
tial institution of learning throughout the land. Out of sympathy 
with the spirit of the controlling, forces, he resigned the presidency 
June, 1910. 

Auspiciously for him, the time was at hand for the nomination of 
Gubernatorial candidates for the State of New Jei'sey, i and the 
leaders of the popular element of his party, being then alert as to 
a candidate who possessed the intelligence, the strength of character, 
the prominence, the popularity, and the eloquence neeessarj^ to sue- 



8 

ceed, alighted on him. A newspaper campaign for his nomination 
began, which soon unified, lai'gely, the sentiment for him. / 

New Jersey for years had been groaning under heavy burdens, 
imposed by the twin political machine. These cormorants with the 
no less inordinate vampires, the insatiable corporations, had years 
before attached themselves to the body politic; they had battened 
long at the people's exj^ense. Here was the man who could win, not 
only the nomination, but the election as well, and who possessed the 
personality, the literary, and all the humane elements to make him 
a considerate and successful champion of the popular cause; who 
could and would throttle these foul enemies that had been gnawing at 
the public vitals, lo ! these many years. 

For years James Smith, Jr., assisted by his relative, Democratic 
State Chairman James Nugent, controlled the policies of the Demo- 
cratic party, and although it had not been in control of the State 
government for quite a time, these men were more or less jjotent in 
shaping its destiny through their working connection with the Re- 
publican organization. Smith had served one term as United States 
Senator,! and the alluring siren had again started her song, Smith was 
captivated, and about this time was in quest of a man who could 
carry the election for Governor, which would in all i^robability 
assure the election of a favorable legislature, and which would in 
turn elect Mr. Smith to another six years in the United States 
Senate.! And, at the suggestion of Dr. Wilson's name, lo ! here was 
just the man. He is a great educator, profoundly learned, not 
experienced in government, it is true, but learned in the theory and 
economy of it, and, withal, justly popular; and although dangerously 
progressive, he would hazard his chance to him. Had he not had 
experience with independently inclined men. before? Had he not 
wholly and finally subjected them to his will? And, while Dr. Wil- 
son is a man of much reputation for honor, rectitude, and kindred 
attributes, he would assume charge of his camj)aign, direct it, manip- 
ulate the delegates, and bring the influence of the entire organization 
to bear in his favor, and of a certainty nominate him with very 
little, if any opposition, which would put the Governor-elect under 



9 

such obligations to him that he coukl not oppose liis St'iiatorial can- 
didacy, though he may not be of the desired type. 

Mr. Smith's first move was to send emissaries to I)i-. Wilson to 
urge him to consent to accept the nomination for Governor. They 
told him that with the support of Mr. Smith his nomination could be 
accomplished with but small effort, and that it was their mission to 
assure him this support, which meant not only his nomination, but 
unquestionably his election in November. Dr. Wilson knew Mr. 
Smith and his connection with New .Jersey politics, and divined his 
purpose in this unsolicited support, and being so unalterably hostile 
to the devious methods employed bj'^ j\Ir. Smith, he informed these 
men that he must be assured that Mr. Smith would not be a candidate 
for the Senate, for in view of their wide divergence of political 
views he would endeavor to prevent his election to the Senate, in case 
he were the Governor of the State and Mr. Smith aspired to mem- 
bership in that body. It was represented to him that Mr. Smith's 
health was precarious, and that he had no further political ambitions; 
that he was moved to take this interest by reason of his desire to 
see his party succeed ; and the pleasure he would experience by . 
feeling that he, perhaps, was the humble instiiiment of placing in the 
Governorship of his State a capable and distinguished man, whose 
administration, in all likelihood, would be of such surpassing excel- 
lence as to commend him to the favorable consideration of the people 
for the Presidency. 

Some further talk about party fidelity and the treatment of the 
organization by Mr. Wilson, in the event of his election, were in- 
dulged in; these gentlemen seemed pleased, and evidently reported a 
satisfactory interview to Mr. Smith, who plunged into the prelimin- 
aries of the campaign, advising and encouraging his friends to sup- 
port Dr. Wilson, so that Avhen the convention was held there was 
little real opposition, and that quite desultory. ' Dr. Wilson was thus 
nominated, appeared before the convention, and made a happily apt 
and eloquent speech, which may have caused some misgivings on the 
part of the machine followers, for it certainly afforded them no 
reassurance of a happy entrance into the political elysium. He was 
elected Governor November 8, 1910, by a plurality approximating^ 



10 

fifty thousand votes, and James E. Martine, who with others had 
submitted his name to the Democratic primaries, received a large 
majority of the votes east for United States Senator. 

Soon after the election the Governor-elect was surprised by a visit 
from Mr. James Smith, Jr., and was astounded when told by that gen- 
tleman that his health was now restored, and that he had resolved to be 
a candidate before the legislature for election to the United States 
Senate. Governor Wilson rejilied that he had explicitly and in un- 
mistakable language informed Smith's friends that he would be 
averse to his election ; that he had been assured that Smith was sick, 
well-nigh fatally, and would not be a candidate; that he considered 
his influence in New Jersey politics detrimental to the public welfare ; 
that, therefore, he would be obliged to subvert his efforts, were he to 
be elected Governor. Besides, Martine and others had submitted 
their names to the Democratic peojjle at the jDrimaries for the ascer- 
tainment of their views; that the peojole had sjioken overAvhelmingly 
in favor of Martine, and hence he felt it his directed duty to exert his 
influence with the legislature to ratify the expressed wish of the 
people so unmistakably given. Mr. Smith rejoined that he looked 
on the primaries as a farce and that the few votes east for Senator 
was strong evidence that the people likewise regarded them; and that 
he had invincibly determined to have his name presented to the 
legislature for consideration. He then left the conference disap- 
pointed and chagrined, but undismayed and resolved. 

Sometime subsequent to this meeting, Governor-elect Wilson called 
on Mr. Smith with a view of making a final effort to dissuade him 
from pursuing a course that would indubitably divide the councils of 
the party, destroy its inviolability, and perhaps disrupt and defeat 
the reform policy he had so steadfastly determined to make the law 
of the State of New Jersey. Mr. Smith brusquely refused to listen 
to any such suggestion. Dr. Wilson took his leave, and soon there- 
after we find him appearing before large bodies of people at the 
prineiiDal centres of population, recalling to them that, at the recent 
primaries, they had placed the seal of their indorsement on one James 
E. Martine for United States Senator, and that it was their duty to 
admonish the men whom they had elected to the legislature to carry 



11 

out this mandate; that if l)y their supineness Mr. Smith sliould 
receive the support of a majority of this body and secure the prize, 
the enemies of the primary measure would be thus endorsed, and the 
success of the contemphited reform program woukl be put in 
jeopardy; and still Averse, the boss system would be revitalized and 
empowered. The peo])le were sensibly aroused, supported the 
Governor's view, and when the vote for United States Senator was 
taken on January 28, 1911, James Smith, Jr., received four votes 
and James E. Martine received forty, and was duly elected. 

This contest brought forward in bold relief this strong and re- 
markable man. It revealed to the nation a new luminary of wonder- 
ful power and brilliancy in the political heavens; one that was 
destined to disjael the black clouds of political diabolism, and, as a 
beacon, guide the footsteps of the people in the ways of social justice 
and collective righteousness. 

Mr. Smith and his cohorts were discomfited, defeated, routed, but 
not dismayed. They fain would fight on; they would find the weak 
spot in the Governor's character and enter there. Had they not had 
experience with recalcitrant and ungrateful men before? Men whom 
they had raised from obscurity to power and fame? And had they 
not finally prevailed? They would not despair now. If this ingrate 
did not reveal a faint heart; did not become amenable to argument 
and reason; would not be captivated by the prospect of the Presi- 
dential nomination— then their only recourse Avas to call forth 
the supi'eme power of the machine and crush him irrevocably. When 
the legislature settled down to work such was the aspect of affairs. 

The platform on which the Democratic legislature was elected 
called for the enactment of a Direct Primary Election law, a Corrupt 
Practices act, a Public Service Commission with power to fix rates, 
an Employers' Liability and Workman's Compensation law. and 
others. Governor Wilson immediately assumed the leadership of his 
party, and at once set in motion the forces that would eventually 
place them on the statute books. He knew that he would be respon- 
sible for his administration, and he was in no spirit to permit a 
subversion of his program. He was alert,- too, to the necessity of 



12 

quickly enacting into law this policy. With him a j^erformanee was 
a sequel to a promise. 

It must not be thought that the twin machine of the State supinely 
submitted. Neither Smith and Nugent, nor their Republican friends, 
had the remotest notion of assenting to this reform legislation, but 
on the other hand had determined to avert all mischief to the interests 
that they represented and with which they were allied by ties of 
material well-being. Therefore, when the Geran bill which provided 
for direct primary elections came up for consideration, the Demo- 
cratic members of the legislature called a caucus to take party action 
on it. It was State Chairman Nugent who was the dominant figure 
in this action, and it was his pur230se to have the caucus act un- 
favorably on the bill. Governor Wilson knew this, and he also knew 
that the enemies to progress within his own party intended to make 
this caucus action the test of their strength; they felt confident of 
success; he knew if he was worsted in this fight he would likely be 
helpless to have his legislative program carried out; he was vigilant 
and aggressive, and on the night of the caucus i^resented himself at 
the door for admission, which was reluctantly granted. His enemies 
in the caucus would have refused him the privilege of participation 
in its deliberations, but they feared the public wrath. The caucus 
was in session for hours; the Governor was now face to face with the 
enemies of progress for the first time within the official councils of 
the party, and it was essential that he should win in order to place 
his leadership beyond controversion. He was on his feet constantly, 
counseling, advising, admonishing, and Avlien a vote was taken it 
revealed him the victor. The result was a further notice to the 
plutocrats that a stronger one than they had appeared on the active 
scenes of political life, and he represented the people's interests, and, 
moreover, he was a forceful, masterful, and valiant fighter, equipped, 
as no other Governor of New Jersey had been, in intellect, in com- 
prehensive grasp of affairs, with a resolute and invincible purpose to 
enthrone democracy in the high places held, till then, by plutocracy. 

The Republicans controlled the Senate and they, too, broke the 
shackles of bossism and supported the measure quite generally, so 
that it passed both houses of the legislature with little opposition 



13 

and was promjjtly signed by the Governor. Tlie sinister elements 
in the i:)ublie affairs of New Jersey thus observed that they were over- 
matched by the great man Avho occupied the most exalted position in 
the State, withdrew from the contest with threats and lamentations. 
The juggernaut that had done signal service on many previous occa- 
sions was now helpless before this invincible giant. 

In due lime the legislative program of the Governor was affirma- 
tively acted uj^on and became the law of tlie State. Among the 
most salutary and public-spirited of these measures are the Em- 
ployers' Liability law, which gives the employee innnodiate com- 
pensation by the employer; a Cold Storage law which insures better 
and wholesomer food; a law allowing cities and towns so desiring, 
to be governed by a Commission ; a law reorganizing the Public 
School laws of the State; and a most effective and comprehensive 
Public Utilities Commission law, which places almost unlimited power 
over all public utilities into the hands of a board of commission 
appointed by the Governor. Governor Wilson irrevocably resolved 
to give to the jDeoj^le of New Jersey a Public Service law that meant 
something; one that would guarantee service to the i)eoj)le on the 
part of these companies and at reasonable rates, too. He was fully 
advised of the nefarious demeanor of these same utilities companies 
towards the people of the State for years past; how they had over- 
charged them and underserved them; and how they had grown rich 
and correspondingly insolent. The Governor meant no revenge, he 
was minded that they should be the servants of the people and not 
their masters. 

I Governor Wilson's rout of the political bosses, his absolute inde- 
pendence of party behests, his resolute and successful i>uri)ose in 
giving to the people of New Jersey the remedial legislation that 
struck the shackles of the plunderbund from their enfeebled wrists 
and set them free ; his extraordinary ability, profound learning, com- 
prehensive grasp of public questions, so impressed the Democratic 
masses of the nation that a predominant sentiment for his nomination 
as their candidate for the Presidency soon sprang up, and when their 
convention Avas held at Baltimore in June, 1912, he was nominated 
after a prolonged contest. All the efforts of the plutocratic element 



14 

of the convention to defeat him were unavailing. His election, 
together with that of a Democratic Congress, followed in November 
after a three-cornered contest, marked by extreme bitterness between 
the nominees of the Republican and the Progressive parties and their 
followers. |^ 

He was inaugurated March 4, 1913, and in his address he outlined 
briefly the legislation that should be enacted, and which he had more 
fully set forth in his camijaign speeches, which, by the way, were 
most remarkable for strong, lucid reasoning, brilliant and apt phras- 
ing, and fluent and eloquent delivery. He assembled Congress in 
extraordinary session, went to the capitol and read his message to 
the members of that august body, thus re-establishing the example set 
by Washington, followed by Adams, but discontinued by Jefferson. 
He grasjaed the lines at once. He has encouraged, guided, and 
driven forward the Congressional steeds, lest they might not reach 
the goal he had set before them. Many times they have lagged and 
appeared leg-wearj^ or reluctant, almost rebellious, but ever and anon 
he has gently but firmly pressed them forward along the highway 
to full accomplishment. He meant to hold Congress to a strict and 
promjjt compliance with his pre-election pledges. Accordingly, the 
Underwood Tariff bill and the Simmons Currency bill were soon 
introduced in order. Their presentation preeijiitated a struggle 
which Avas long and determined, but finally both were favorably 
considered and soon became the laAv of the land. Their salutary 
effect was forthwith apparent. Industry and commerce took on new 
life and have been flourishing extensively; labor has been more 
numerously employed, and at higher wages than at any time within 
the memory of man or the records of history. A particular feature 
of the Simmons act is the absolute control of the monetary situation 
of the country by the Government itself. Henceforth there will be 
no more financial jDanics, precipitated unexpectedly because one set 
of Wall Street plutocrats wants to visit ruin on another set in order 
to seize or secure control of some valuable property that, perchance, 
is a competitor ; or, it may be to menace Congress and thus dominate 
their legislative action. 



15 

While Congress was discussing and considering tliese measures a 
pernicious and numerous lobby appeared on the scene, and became 
mischievously active in its attempts to control the actions of that 
body. The President, heroic as he always has been when occasion 
has required it, arose to the importance of the moment, jniblicly 
denounced their Satanic operations, and laid their diabolical designs 
open to public inspection. Like all noxious growths, they flourish 
best and most in dark, dank jilaoes, but when laid bare to the 
effulgent rays of public observation, they faded away like the mists 
before the meridian sun. 

The unfortunate illness and lamentable death of Mrs. Wilson, 
whicli happened at the White House on August 6, 1914, was 
an extreme shock and sad bereavement to the President and his 
family, and an exceptional loss to the poor and indigent sick of the 
capital, for she was as a guardian angel to them, seeking them out 
and ministering to their distress and want. Her death left an im- 
pressive void in art circles, too, for she was an artist of a high order. \ 

In addition to the Underwood Tariff and the Simmons Currency 
acts, the more important enactments of this term of President Wil- 
son have been, the Army and Navy bill, which inci'eases the standing 
army and provides for the nationalizing of the National Guard of the 
several States at any time the countrj'^ is imperiled ; but the far 
more important feature is the provision for the increase of the navy, 
which within a few years will become the second largest in the 
world; the Shipping Bill, which authorizes the Government to or- 
ganize a corporation of not more than fifty millions of dollars 
capital, to buy or lease shi^DS and put them in trade; strengthening 
the Income Tax law; extending, in its application, the Industrial 
Employers' Ai'bitration act; a reduction in the rates of the Parcels- 
Post; a Trade Commission act; a Farm Credit system, which will 
enable the farmers of the country to borrow money on their proper- 
ties for the purjDOse of financing their operations; hence, they will 
not be hampered for want of financial aid, as heretofore. They have 
heralded it as a great boon. The Dei:>artmeut of Agriculture has 
been made still more useful to the people by enactments that will 
modernize the distribution of farm products; that will carry direct 



16 

to the farmers scientific discoveries made by the department along 
the lines of betterments and economy. 

The Rules of Congress were changed so that the members and not 
the Speaker select the committees, thus liberalizing this body, and 
making it amenable to public sentiment. The control of one cori)ora- 
tion over a eomjDetitor has long been felt as throttling business 
freedom, and has given rise to increased cost in the transaction of 
business; to destroy this species of monopoly, enactments were per- 
fected that render these methods of business illegal. Accordingly, 
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company sold its holdings in the Balti- 
more and Ohio ; the American Telephone and Telegraph Company dis- 
posed of its Western Union stock ; other of the large corporations fol- 
lowed these leads, consequently we are now freer of the influence of 
these subtle organizations, and our business life is more buoyant and 
satisfactory. Interlocking directorates have long been a menace to 
the safety and security of business. They, too, have met their doom. 
Their power for evil lies broken. They are buried beyond resurrec- 
tion. The i^laudits of the public resound throughout the nation at 
their expiring gasp. 

A happy event took place at the White House December 18, 1915, 
when the President was joined in wedlock to Mrs. Gait, an animated, 
educated woman, of high standing in social circles, of estimable 
character and much loojDularity. She had been a friend of the 
Wilson family for some time, and her marriage now completes a 
happy family circle. 

Through the insistence of the President a Federal Child Labor bill 
was enacted, that will bring a sense of freedom and an opportunity 
for more schooling to an army of thousands of children, now em- 
ployed in the mills, the mines, and the factories of the country, 
between the ages of ten and fifteen years. The law forbids com- 
merce among the States, of the products of children of fourteen 
years of age, employed in factories; limits the working hours of 
children under sixteen years to eight hours a day, and forbids the 
employment of boys under sixteen years in the mines and quari'ies. 
When President Wilson signed this bill he said, " I want to say that 
with real emotion I sign this bill, because I know how long the 



straggle has been to secure legislation of this sort, and what it is 
going to mean to the health and to the vigor of the country, and also 
to the happiness of those whom it affects. It is with genuine pride 
that I play my part in completing this legislation. I congratulate 
the country and felicitate myself." 

When Woodrow Wilson came to the Presidency, the conditions in 
Mexico were chaotic and well-nigh intolerable. Citizens of our 
country had been murdered and their projaerty destroyed. These 
murders having continued to occur and inci-ease in numbei', the 
President sent an army and a part of the fleet to Vera Cruz, where 
a skirmish Avith a number of Huerta's soldiers resulted in the death 
of a number of ovir marines, a wounding of others, and a killing of 
a large force of Mexicans. After a resignation, by Huerta, of the 
usurped Presidency of Mexico, our soldiers and marines were with- 
di'awn. At a latei" period more of our citizens lost their lives as a 
result of the raiding of our border land by the bandit Villa and his 
marauding band. A number of our soldiers entered Mexico in pur- 
suit of this murderous banditti, in an attempt to capture and punish 
them. This action inflamed the JMexican people and the soldiei's of 
that country attacked our men, the skirmish was sharp, but short, 
and resulted in the death of some of our soldiers, and a much greater 
number of Mexicans. War appeared inevitable. The Mexican 
soldiers mobilized close to our border, while a considerable force drew 
menacingly close to our small body still within their country. Im- 
mediately our National Guard to the number of many thousands 
were mobilized at their different State rendezvous, organized, sworn 
into the service of the United States j^ursuant to a law recently enac- 
ted, and dispatched to the border. Notwithstanding these grave and 
warlike conditions. President Wilson by extreme patience, consummate 
tact, and virtuous forbearance has thus far happily steered the bark of 
state clear of the reefs of war, to the great comfort and satisfaction 
of the country. The excitement has lessened, the threatened clash 
of arms has abated, and there seems to be a fair prospect of an 
arbitration of the difficulties by Commissioners representing the 
two countries. 



18 

A strike of the railway trainmen of the country had threatened 
for sometime past and came to a climax in the latter days of August, 
1916, when the President jumped into the breach and endeavored to 
have an accommodation reached between the railroad heads and their 
men. He realized what a strike of over four hundred thousand men 
employed on over two hundred railroads would mean in destruction 
of life and property, and the want and misery that would be inflicted 
on a large number of our ^Teojile. He failed in his efforts to effect 
an agreement between them, and then submitted the matter to 
Congress, with a recommendation that they enact a law making 
eight hours a day's work on the railroads, with extra pay for over- 
time. Congi'ess acted promptly, passed the measure, which the 
President signed immediately. The leaders of the railroad employees 
thereuiDon recalled the strike order which was to have gone into 
effect on Labor Day, 1916, and the excitement incident thereto 
quickly subsided. 

Likewise has the President's attitude towards the European belhg- 
erents been the patient forbearance of the broad-minded statesman. 
Both sets of these warring nations have infringed our rights again 
and again. Their friends in this country have each charged him 
with partiality, and each set of partisans has badgered him, and 
urged him to commit acts equivalent to war. The representatives 
of these nations have been assiduously and continuously laboring to 
create sentiment among our joeople for their respective countries, 
which has kept our country in a state of continual ferment. In this 
dififteult and harrowing position the great qualities of this rare man 
have held him steadfast to his purpose to maintain a strictly neutral 
attitude, and at the same time to uphold the dignity and the honor of 
the country, and to avoid war. He has thus far succeeded admirably. 

Happily the President's leadership has thus far prevailed with the 
Congress, and they have wrought into effect the measures he has 
thought necessary to vivify and vitalize " The New Freedom" that 
he has meant to give to the worthy and enlightened people of this 
imperial country. 



19 

He has given a new, enlarged, and more endearing meaning to the 
phrase " Land of (he Free and Home of the Brave," therefore, when 
the Democratic party, in their convention held at St. Louis June 15, 
1916, renominated him unanimously amidst an overwhelming tumult 
of applause, Avhat more apj^ropriate action should have closed this 
historical chapter than the singing of that beloved anthem: . 

'' Oh ! say, does the star-spangled banner yet wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? 
'Tis the star-spangled banner, oh! long may it wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. 
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave." 




Tiio.MAs R. Mah.shall. 



THOMAS R. MARSHALL. 



Thomas R. Marshall, Vice-President of the United States, was 
born in North Manchester, Wabash County, Indiana, March 14, 1854. 
After due preijaration he entered Wabash College, from which 
institution he was graduated in 1873, at the age of nineteen, when he 
began the study of law, and two years later swung his shingle to the 
breeze in Columbia City, Indiana. He was genial, studious, affable, 
and soon had a host of friends, and had acquired a large and 
lucrative practice. His ambition was to achieve fame as a lawyer, 
and therefore he was not to be deviated from his purjiose by the ten- 
der of any public positions, be they never so alluring and desirable. ^ , 
His rise in his profession was so rapid that he Avas soon recognized 
as among the first lawyers of the State. He now felt that he had 
reached his goal; he had acquired not only fame in his profession, 
but also wealth. ' 

In 1908 the Democratic State leaders, sensing the difficult fight thej^-^ 
would have on their hands for the election of their candidate for 
Governor, sought the strongest and most available man in Tlieir party 
for their nominee. After duly considering all their available men, 
they nominated Thomas R. Marshall, who was elected after a memor- 
able contest. His administration was exceptional for the excellent 
laws enacted, and the clean, economical way in which he discharged 
his trust. 

The State of Indiana-^ias frequently been the battle-ground in 
Presidential contests, by reason of the nearlj' equal numerical 
strength of the major parties and the size of the electoral vote. 
Indeed, with every such recurring federal election the national 
leaders of the two great parties call before their mind's eye those 
among its citizens who have risen to national stature, to ascertain 
if such an one may be discovered who would add strength to the 



22 

ticket as a Vice-Presidential candidate. It was thus that Thomas R. 
Marshall was chosen when the national Democratic convention of 
1912 was ready to consider the names of the men presented to its 
considerate judgment for a running-mate for Woodrow Wilson. 
He was chosen, too, not only because he was one of the first citizens 
of Indiana, but as much so because he was a popular, able, and 
eminent man, whose name and fame had spread beyond the confines 
of his own State, and had made him friends and supporters among 
his fellow-countrymen of other states. In the campaign that fol- 
lowed Mr. Marshall was active and quite effective on the stump. 
The impression he made by his splendid speeches and the force of 
his genial personality brought considerable numerical strength to the 
ticket. The election resulted in his choice as Vice-President, along 
with that of Woodrow Wilson as President, and they were ac- 
cordingly inaugurated March 4, 1913. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Marshall's great learning in the law, his pre-emi- 
nence in this profession and in public affairs, brought recognition 
from Wabash College, Notre Dame University, the University of 
Pennsylvania, the University of North Carolina, and the University 
of Maine, in the way of the conferment upon him of the degree 
of LL.D. 

Mr. Marshall has grown in strength and jjower during his in- 
cumbency of the office of Vice-President, which he has filled with 
marked ability, with dignity, and with strict impartiality, and which 
led his party to further honor him by unanimously renominating 
him for the same office at their convention held at St. Louis in 
June, 1916. 



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